Two-time Canadian Formula B champion Craig Hill has died at the age of 78. Hill was an outgoing character who clearly enjoyed his life while making invaluable contributions to Canadian motorsports. After commencing his competition career on local oval tracks Hill eventually moved into road racing, first with production cars and subsequently formula cars and sports racers.
His first major success came in 1959 when he teamed with Ray Carter to win the CRDA 500K at Harewood Acres in a Jaguar XKSS. He later raced an XKE coupe and an Austin-Healey 100S before beginning a long association with Triumph, racing both a TR4 IRS and a GT6. A Lotus 30 powered by a Holman-Moody Ford 289 followed, but results were mixed. Hill drove a Lotus 61 Formula Ford to a pair of championships before moving into the Formula B ranks, where he won the ’69 title with a twin-cam in his 61, then repeated in 1970 driving a Lotus 59. In 1973 he co-drove with Ludwig Heimrath to win the Sundown Grand Prix at Mosport in a Porsche 911 RS, and the pair repeated in ’74 with a 911 Carrera RSR.
When Formula B morphed into Formula Atlantic for 1974, Hill was there with a Brabham BT40 sponsored by Canadian television network CTV, for whom he became a participant/reporter on the network’s broadcasts of series races. For the 1975 Players Atlantic Championship he drove an Ecurie Canada March 75B before switching to a Lola T460 in ’76 and a Ralt RT1 for a handful of races in ’77.
In later years he served as manager of advertising and promotion for Castrol Canada and was inducted into the Canadian Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1996. To his family and many friends Vintage Racecar offers its sincere condolences.
